#GreenwichCT
Shining a Light
The Greenwich Historical Society’s “Shining a Light” Lecture Series is dedicated to elevating and amplifying underrepresented voices in local history in order to highlight the stories, research and people who are dedicated to interpreting, restoring and preserving these histories. We invite you to watch Witness Stones Project Executive Director Dennis Culliton’s lecture here:
Greenwich Historical Society to Host Lecture Series on Slavery, Race Issues in New England
By Robert Marchant in The Middletown Press on March 19, 2022
GREENWICH — “Shining a Light,” a three-part virtual lecture series, will return this month at the Greenwich Historical Society as it focuses on elevating and amplifying underrepresented voices of history.
The first presentation on March 24 will put a spotlight on slavery in Greenwich and throughout New England.
The series promises to offer “riveting stories … on topics that have shaped the history of Greenwich and New England,” the historical society said. The lectures will address “many of the themes that are shaping the nation’s narrative, including race, oppression, identity and equality.” Continue reading.
Greenwich Historical Society’s Shining a Light Lecture Series to Elevate and Amplify Underrepresented Voices
By Laura in Cos Cob’s HamletHub.com on March 14, 2022
In its second year, the Greenwich Historical Society’s annual “Shining a Light” Lecture Series offers riveting stories from distinguished individuals on topics that have shaped the history of Greenwich and New England. Dedicated to elevating and amplifying underrepresented voices in history, the three-part virtual series features speakers who are dedicated to interpreting, restoring and preserving these histories.
The initiative speaks to situations and events behind many of the themes that are shaping the nation’s narrative, including race, oppression, identity and equality.
“We are proud to shine a light on activists and humanitarians who are actively involved in ensuring these stories and events are recognized as part of our local history so that current and future generations can learn from them,” says Greenwich Historical Society’s Public Programs Manager Stephanie Barnett. “The program aligns perfectly with the Historical Society’s mission of preserving and interpreting Greenwich’s history and strengthening the community’s connection to the past, to each other and to the future.”
The Witness Stones Project will be featured on March 24, 2022
March 24, 2022
The Witness Stones Project: Restoring History, Honoring Humanity
Speaker: Dennis Culliton
M.A.T., C.A. G.S., and Founder and Executive Director, The Witness Stones Project
Virtual Event
6:00 – 7:15pm
Project Executive Director Dennis Culliton will explore the economic and legal framework that supported slavery in our region based on extensive research into primary source analysis conducted by the Witness Stones Project, an organization he founded in 2017 that is committed to restoring the honor, humanity and contributions of enslaved individuals who helped build local communities. He will be joined by Greenwich Historical Society Manager of Youth and Family Programs Heather Lodge who will highlight the history of enslavement at the Bush-Holley House and illuminate the agency, resistance, and contributions of the enslaved who lived there.
For more information and to register: https://greenwichhistory.org/event/dennis-culliton/
News 12 Reports on the Witness Stones Project & the Bush-Holley House
Greenwich’s “Forgotten” Enslaved Population: Witness Stones Project Seeks to Tell Their Stories
by Robert Marchant on February 12, 2022 in the Greenwich Time
GREENWICH — Few markers of slavery exist in southern Connecticut, reminders of a time when men and women were bought and sold like property or livestock.
Two of them stand at Union Cemetery in Greenwich — the headstones of Hester Mead and her mother Candice Bush, both born into slavery at the Bush homestead in Cos Cob, now the site of the Greenwich Historical Society. Continue reading.
New Memorials First to Acknowledge Difficult Truth of Slaves in Greenwich
By Don Snyder in Greenwich Time on July 14, 2021
Memorials to victims of the Holocaust, known as “stolpersteine” or “stumbling blocks,” are found throughout Europe from Trondheim, Norway to Thessaloniki, Greece. More than 75,000 of these brass plaques, created by German artist Gunter Demnig, have been placed outside the former homes of the victims, whose names are engraved on the plaques. “Emordet”— “Murdered” — appears under their names. Continue reading.
Bringing to Life the Hidden Lives of Four Greenwich Slaves with Honor and Witness Stones
By Anne W. Semmes in the Greenwich Sentinel on June 12, 2021
Forces have joined in the town of Greenwich to tell its hidden history, “To return the colors to the historical fabrics of our community,” so said Dennis Culliton, co-founder of the Connecticut-based Witness Stones Project that “seeks to restore the history and to honor the humanity and contributions of the enslaved individuals who helped build our communities.” Continue reading.
Greenwich Historical Society Hosts Witness Stones Project
On May 27, 2021, the Greenwich Historical Society welcomed students from Greenwich Academy and Sacred Heart Greenwich. The students shared their work uncovering the lives of Cull Bush, Patience, Candice , and Hester Mead and laid Witness Stones in their memory.
Courtesy of Greenwich Historical Society.
Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo. Courtesy of Greenwich Historical Society.
The Reverend Thomas Nins of the First Baptist Church. Courtesy of the Greenwich Historical Society.
Historian & Genealogist Teresa Vega. Courtesy Greenwich Historical Society.
Student Work. Courtesy of Greenwich Historical Society.
Lillie Foster Sharing Life of Cull Foster. Courtesy of Greenwich Historical Society.
Courtesy of the Greenwich Historical Society.
Laying Stone. Courtesy of Greenwich Historical Society.
Heather Lodge Laying Stone. Courtesy of Greenwich Historical Society
Memorial Stones Laid Beneath Bush-Holley House. Courtesy of Greenwich Historical Society.
Greenwich Honors Legacy of Those Who Were Enslaved
By Richard Kaufman on Patch.com on May 27, 2021
GREENWICH, CT — It was an emotional day on Thursday at the Greenwich Historical Society, as the community came together to honor the legacy of those who were enslaved in Greenwich in the 18th and 19th centuries.
According to research from the Historical Society, approximately 300 enslaved people resided in Greenwich. Thursday’s ceremony honored four individuals — Cull Bush and his partner Patience, and Candice Bush and her daughter Hester Mead — who all lived and worked for David Bush and family at the Bush-Holley House. Altogether, about 15 enslaved people worked at the house. Continue reading.
